Shield with a Twist! (Japanese: ヨスガジム戦！ＶＳメリッサ！！Yosuga Gym Match! VS Melissa!!) is the 102nd episode of the Diamond & Pearl series, and the 568th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on November 13, 2008, in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2009 and in the United States on April 18, 2009.

Blurb

Ash is ready to battle Hearthome Gym Leader Fantina for the second time, with both his pride and the Relic Badge at stake. Barry, Ash's new rival, is watching in the hope that Ash will lose! The match begins with Fantina's Gengar facing Ash's Buizel. Gengar's Ability, Levitate, makes it hard to hit, and its Shadow Punch attack never misses. But when Gengar uses Hypnosis, Buizel spins and uses Water Gun, which counters Hypnosis and damages Gengar at the same time. This new counter shield maneuver helps Buizel beat Gengar, and the next round sees Chimchar use a fiery variation on this move to battle Fantina's Mismagius. Ash is definitely on a roll!

However, Fantina realizes she can use Magical Leaf to break through the counter shield trick. Ash is just as quick to adapt, and Chimchar knocks Mismagius out with its Flame Wheel move. Since this is a 3-on-3 Gym Battle, Fantina is now down to just her Drifblim—this should be an easy win for Pikachu, Ash's next Pokémon. But Drifblim creates a Psychic combination to counter Ash's counter shield strategy, then uses Hypnosis to put Pikachu down for the count. Buizel is up next, and Drifblim hits again with Hypnosis to knock Buizel out in no time!

Ash is on the defensive now, but he and Chimchar have one last trick left. By using Dig to get behind Drifblim, Chimchar gains the advantage of surprise. It launches itself at Drifblim from behind, and the surprise attack means it's lights out for Drifblim. Ash has won the Relic Badge—and over in Majolica Town, Jessie and her Yanmega have won a Contest Ribbon, too! That night, Barry announces his plan to take a boat from Canalave City to Iron Island, where he intends to train. Barry dares Ash to take on the Canalave Gym, and Ash confidently accepts. Now both Trainers are headed to Canalave, but it remains to be seen whether they can travel together!

Plot

The episode starts with an image of a Drifblim shaped balloon and pans out onto the Hearthome Gym, then cuts to a bird's eye view of the battlefield inside. Ash stands with Pikachu on the right side of the screen. The well-dressed referee introduces the battlers. The doors opposing Ash open and reveal Fantina surrounded by white light as she spins on one foot, announcing her excitement for her rematch with Ash and putting her foot down right on her side of the field and letting out a small chuckle. Ash gladly shouts across the room to her and tells her that she will not beat him this time, clenches his fist and exclaims that he'll have his fifth Badge soon. Fantina chuckles again and exclaims that she'll not give up the Relic Badge easily. The narrator introduces the episode and it cuts to the title sequence.

The screen tracks downwards over a huge lake and a small town called Majolica Town. James excitedly points out that a Pokémon Contest will be held today. He, Meowth and Wobbuffet stare at the poster of Marian while contemplating a scheme. Jessie, dressed as Jessilina, stands upright with her Yanmega beside her and cockily names herself Top Coordinator before she rushes off to get her second Ribbon, leaving James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet behind.

Back at the Gym, Ash calls to Barry, who is sitting in the stands with Dawn and Brock telling him to "watch and learn", Barry replies that he "already knows what a loser" is. The referee announces the rules and exclaims that the match will be 3 on 3. Fantina calls upon her Gengar which floats above the battlefield, gently bobbing up and down in midair. Dawn scans it with her Pokédex and Ash calls out his Buizel, anticipating Hypnosis, the move Fantina used to defeat his three Pokémon in their rematch. Dawn and Piplup cheer Buizel on and Ash encourages his, mentioning the special training he and his Pokémon had done. Unable to contain her excitement, Fantina prepares to start. Gengar squares up to Buizel and the referee begins the match.

Ash commands Buizel to use Aqua Jet which Gengar dodges with amazing speed while Barry jumps up and says that he had to deal with the same moves and Brock worries about the AbilityLevitate that most Ghost-type Pokémon have. Fantina boasts about her Pokémon's movements and tests Ash's skills, asking how he'll handle it. Ash orders Sonic Boom, which misses Gengar and hits the wall. Fantina cockily suggests that there is not much of a battle to see and flamboyantly spins and calls out, calling her Gengar "Gengar the Great". Gengar intimately circles Buizel with incredible speed and shoots upwards. Fantina commands her Gengar to use Shadow Punch. Buizel attempts to dodge the attack but as Fantina pointed out to Dawn, Shadow Punch always hits its target. Fantina tells Gengar to use Hypnosis which Ash excitedly replies by telling Buizel to spin on its back and use Water Gun, forming whips of water flying in all directions, disabling Hypnosis and trapping Gengar. Dawn cheers for Ash and Buizel as Barry is impressed to see this new move. Fantina calls out to Gengar, telling it to stay still or it will be damaged by the water whips. Brock and Dawn joyously note the qualities of Buizel's move and Barry suggests to Ash he should keep that strategy up. Gengar lands on the ground opposing Buizel and Fantina compliments Ash's technique, naming it the Counter Shield, which Ash then agrees with her that that is the name. Fantina orders Night Shade and Ash tells Buizel to counter with Water Pulse. Both Pokémon are hit but only Buizel is able to get up. The referee calls out Buizel to be the victor and Ash recalls it. Barry is angered by how easily Ash won the first round, exclaiming he was unable to beat even one of Fantina's Pokémon. Fantina calls back Gengar and compliments Ash, much to Barry's disgust as he had received no compliments in his battle with Fantina.

Meanwhile, at the Contest, Marian is complimenting all the Pokémon who have performed and then she introduces the next Coordinator, Jessilina. Jessilina walks on stage, blowing kisses to the audience while James, Meowth, Wobbuffet and Mime Jr. cheer for her. She releases Yanmega from its Poké Ball along with a bunch of hearts created by the Seal on her Ball Capsule. Yanmega starts with Silver Wind which blows Jessilina's Ribbons out of her hair so that it waved beautifully in the wind, making the audience fall in love with Jessilina and Yanmega's beauty. James and Meowth compliment her to themselves as she sings for all to hear.

Back at the Gym, Ash vows to make quick work of Fantina's other two Pokémon. Fantina calls upon Mismagius and tells Ash that it can't learn Hypnosis and this surprises Dawn and Barry. Barry thinks that Fantina is putting herself at a disadvantage but Brock tells him that it is common for Gym Leaders to share their techniques because their goal is to test the challenger. Ash reminisces the time Mismagius battled Zoey, so he could be prepared for the attacks it knew. Knowing that he'd have to deal with the Grass-type move Magical Leaf as well, so he sends out his Fire-type, Chimchar. Chimchar starts with Flame Wheel, which Mismagius dodges with speed very much like Gengar's, but Chimchar turns around and jumps towards Mismagius with Flame Wheel still activated, much to Fantina's and Barry's surprise. Fantina orders Psywave which stops the Flame Wheel and sends Chimchar plummeting to the ground, while Brock and Dawn heed the power of Psychic-type moves. Ash tells Chimchar to spin and use Flamethrower which makes a Counter Shield of fire. Mismagius tries deflecting it with Psywave but still gets hit. Fantina then tries Magical Leaf, which is also deflected by the Counter Shield, but not before stopping it. Fantina then exclaimed that she had learned everything about the Counter Shield when he used it before, in their last battle. Ash tells Chimchar to use Flame Wheel again and Mismagius uses Dark Pulse, but Chimchar counters with another Counter Shield while still using Flame Wheel. Mismagius destroys the Counter Shield with Psywave, but is then afterwards hit hard by Flame Wheel. Mismagius is announced unable to battle and Chimchar celebrates with Ash. Barry then comments on how much happier it seemed to be while with Ash then it was with Paul.

Back at the Contest, Mr. Contesta presents Jessilina with her second Ribbon. Her teammates in the audience are overjoyed to see her win the Majolica Ribbon.

Straight back to the Gym battle, Fantina calls upon the Pokémon that beat Pikachu, Buizel and Chimchar in her last battle with Ash, her Drifblim. Fantina warns Ash that Drifblim is much stronger and much more beautiful than ever before and he sends Pikachu into battle. It starts with a Thunderbolt Counter Shield that directly hits Drifblim and paralyses it, but Drifblim blows the electricity away with Psychic and Fantina reminds Ash that "all good things must come to an end", suggesting the Counter Shield has outgrown its use. Drifblim then conjures up a Will-O-Wisp and Fantina tells it to use Psychic to control the Will-O-Wisp. Drifblim spreads the ghostly blue fire around itself, making its own Counter Shield. Pikachu tried knocking it away with Thunderbolt but Drifblim's counter shield, which Fantina called a "Counter Counter Shield", was too powerful. Fantina then went on to explain her Counter Shield's superiority and that it will last much longer. Drifblim throws the Counter Shield at Pikachu, it surrounds him and Drifblim grabs him by the cheeks and uses Hypnosis, putting Pikachu to sleep. Drifblim finally blows him away with Ominous Wind, rendering him unable to battle.

Hoping to deflect Will-O-Wisp, Ash sends out Buizel again. Ash orders a spinning Aqua Jet which destroys the Counter Shield that Drifblim had thrown at it and it hit Drifblim hard. Fantina quickly catches on to Ash's strategy and orders an Ominous Wind attack which destroys the Aqua Jet. Buizel lands on the ground and is told to use Water Pulse, which gets countered by a Will-O-Wisp attack. Once the blinding light had cleared, Drifblim grabbed Buizel by the cheeks, used Hypnosis and smashed him to the ground with Psychic, leaving Ash with only one Pokémon left, which is his Chimchar.

Chimchar is sent out again for the final round. Drifblim instantly starts by making Will-O-Wisp, while Chimchar uses Flame Wheel. Drifblim hits Chimchar with the Will-O-Wisp and stops the Flame Wheel. The match of Fire-type moves gives Ash an idea, he orders Chimchar to use Flamethrower, which collides with Drifblim's Counter Shield. The Flamethrower absorbs Drifblim's Counter Shield, turns the Flamethrower purple and hits Drifblim with the power of Flamethrower and its own Will-O-Wisp attack. Chimchar then dodges Ominous Wind with Dig, comes up behind Drifblim, grabs it and smacks it to the floor. Drifblim then turns around to use Hypnosis, but Chimchar is too quick for it and uses a close-range Flamethrower which knocks it out. Much to Barry’s surprise, Ash had won the match. Fantina picked up her Drifblim and gave it high praise.

Outside, Fantina congratulates Ash and his Pokémon and awards him the Relic Badge.

Later that night, on the balcony of the Pokémon Center, Ash asks what Barry will do next. He replies that he'll go and train on Iron Island as he trained there before and was able to win a Badge from the Canalave Gym. Dawn pointed Iron Island out on the map and Ash decided to go to Canalave City for his next Gym battle, suggesting they should all go together. Barry says if Ash wins there he'll start thinking of him as a real rival. The narrator then closes the episode.

Trivia

The English version of this episode first aired in the UK on April 16, 2009 along with Jumping Rocket Ship!.

As of this episode, every member of Ash's Sinnoh team, other than Gliscor, has been used in at least two Gym battles, and Grotle, Pikachu, and Buizel have been used in three. This also includes Aipom, who was eventually traded and evolved.